Migrant kids may flood nation’s school systems

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In the United States, all children are entitled to a free public education — including those who are not here legally.

In many states, school has not started yet, but there is a decent chance approximately 50,000 immigrant children will enroll at schools across the country, adding to the financial burden and classroom size problems of many districts.

According to USA Today:

“We don’t know the educational background (of the students), if they’ve even been to school, the language issue and operational issues that could raise costs,” Francisco Negron, general counsel for the National School Board Association, says.

Under the No Child Left Behind Act, states have additional money set aside for students with a limited knowledge of English. The trouble is that those funds have not accounted for 50,000 new children.

Another added issue is that the students must have health screenings and many “need social and psychological services” to help cope with their current and past circumstances.

School officials in Georgia, Texas and Florida already know unaccompanied minors are in their state, “but they don’t know how many will end up enrolling and where.”